TF35 Trophy, Alinghi wins the season

Scarlino – After yesterday’s five-race spectacular, today, the TF35 2022 season sadly finished with no wind on the Gulf of Follonica in Scarlino, Italy. 

Winner of the TF35 Trophy overall is Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi Red Bull Racing, whose victories at the Swiss events in Mies and at the Genève-Rolle-Genève, followed by a second place last month in Malcesine northern Italy gave them the points gap needed to win the 2022 season with an event to spare.

“It was a very interesting season,” explained Bertarelli after the prize giving. “We started well and had good results in the long-distance races, which mathematically gave us second place after the first part of the season. It turned out to be essential for the overall because, at the end of the year, Realteam came back really strong. This last Grand Prix has proven that they have won almost every race”. 

Without the pressure to perform, Bertarelli and his crew have enjoyed the Scarlino event finishing the week in third place on the podium. “What is exciting is the strength of the whole fleet with Spindrift in particularly coming back at the end of the season, so I think next year it’s going to be a challenge, and I’m looking forward to it,” he adds. 

Closest rivals Realteam for Léman hope started their season with the goal to defend the TF35 Trophy title for a second year running. Still, as helm Jérôme Clerc explains: “It was a hard one because Alinghi Red Bull Racing wanted to beat us, and they did it really well. It was a great battle with them all season”. 

After the disappointment of losing the Trophy title in Malcesine, Clerc and his team sailed an almost perfect regatta this week in Scarlino, winning seven out of a possible nine races and dominating the leaderboard with an impressive six-point lead at the end of racing. “The mindset is critical,” concluded Clerc. “We wanted to prove that we were still here. We did a big debriefing after Malcesine to see what we could do to improve just small things, but it all helped. It looks easy, but the reality on the water is hard.”

Second-placed in Scarlino and third in the overall standings for the season are Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard’s Spindrift. Their performance had been steadily improving in consistency as the young team settled in, and they finished this week in Scarlino with top-three results in every race apart from one. 

“We have had a lot of fun this season. We ended the year strong with a win in Malcesine and second place here in Scarlino, so I’m really happy with the way we have sailed in terms of progress, manoeuvres, and speed. We are looking forward to next season, we are closing the gap to the best teams, and it gives me and the team confidence for next year,” said Guichard. 

Alongside the trophies at the prizegiving, Official Timekeeper OMEGA recognised Yann Jauvin, in support of the next generation of sailor, for his outstanding performance in Malcesine as tactician onboard Spindrift, by presenting him with one of OMEGA’s most iconic ocean watches, the OMEGA Seamaster Diver 300M.

Fourth in Scarlino is Frédéric Jousset Team Sailfever, helmed here by Loïck Peyron, and the French team also took fourth in the overall season after winning the TF35 at the Bol d’Or Mirabaud back in June. 

In the chasing pack, Guy de Picciotto’s ZEN Too finished the season in fifth, with their best result being second place in the TF35 at the Bol d’Or Mirabaud. Whilst Bertrand Demole’s Ylliam XII – Comptoir Immobilier takes sixth, who sailed an excellent regatta in Mies to finish third. Italian team Vitamina Sailing take the seventh and final position on the 2022 overall leaderboard. 

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